Tuesday Tattles #8

It’s been five months since I’ve done a “favorite products” version of Tuesday Tattles. My little man is now ONE!

Five months is a long time in the world of an infant. He has gone from army crawling to hands-and-knees crawling. From pulling up on furniture to full standing. From toddling with support to complete walking. He can squat to pick things up and carries items between rooms.

Saying “dada” has taken a backseat to finally saying “mama” and his first word is “duck” and he says it with enthusiasm when he sees a rubber ducky, a duck on a screen, or the stuffed animal that used to be mine as a child. He will even wave good-bye to the cashiers at the grocery store and says “ba ba” along with it.

With his 6 teeth (4 on top, 2 on bottom) he enjoys eating anything off of my plate. His favorite foods though are mushrooms, breakfast foods, black beans, and sweet potatoes. He will hum if something is good enough, too!

Fisher Price Apps

I hate to say it but the phone is one of my sons favorite things – ever. (He has actually chewed my Lifeproof case to the point where I’m not sure it’s “lifeproof” anymore. He’s not allowed to put it in his mouth any longer.) It’s okay though, he will flip through books on his own for ten minutes at a time. My husband found a couple Fisher Price Apps one morning and they’ve been great learning tools – as well as a wonderful distraction when needed. I’m pretty sure it’s through these learning apps that my son learned the word “duck”. On the Animals app he will touch through each animal until the duck appears – he even knows it comes after the pig.

This book by Bernadette Rossetti Shustak is definitely a favorite. The pages fall somewhere between paper and board book making them the perfect texture and thickness for little fingers to turn on their own. The illustrations are also adorable.

When we went to visit friends in D.C. they had this walker for their son when he was learning how to walk. I’d been debating on buying one for my little man and his attachment to this toy had me on Amazon the minute we got home. I feel I was a little late in the game in buying it because he doesn’t get very much use from it now that he can walk independently. He will occasionally still play with the activity toys on the front though.

Another toy I waited to purchase until I saw him playing with another kid’s is this play triangle. This toy has been well loved and still is. It’s the one I throw in the car if we’re going to someone’s house and I even stuffed it on our suitcase to have on our ten day vacation to the grandparents’. My little man decided this toy would make a good walking assistant and it is now scratched up from him bending over it and pushing it along the concrete on the back patio.

We’ve had the Alphabet Mat for a long time, and it was definitely more for me than him at the time. I went with the one made by B Toys because the color scheme was unique and had all my favorite colors. The abundance of orange and navy made this Auburn girl quite happy, too. Once my son discovered that the letters (and tiles) are removable they quickly became his favorite chew toy.

This basic block set is a classic toy that has stood the test of time. My mom had a set in her toy closet from when she used to frequently babysit a friend’s kids over 8 years ago. These colorful shapes have been well loved (aka chewed on). While my son hasn’t yet had the patience or interest in learning how to put the shapes through their corresponding holes on the top he loves clapping them together and throwing them. And it may be coincidental, but he has accurately identified a couple of the shapes/colors when I’ve asked. The blue circle is definitely his favorite. My favorite thing to do with them is to start stacking the blocks. Without fail a little hand comes through to swipe my tower – followed by a giggle. This game was actually the first time my son actually played with me and when he was done demolishing my towers we played “tag” down the hallway.

Empty Water Bottles

I don’t care how many toys you have, the best play thing you can hand my son is a water bottle – full or empty doesn’t matter. Same goes for solo cups.

Balls

I can’t begin to tell you how happy it makes my husband that our son loves to play with balls. He will throw a ball if you ask him to and can occasionally catch one tossed to him. Granted, it takes a lot of focus and multiple attempts – but it’s exciting every time! Any ball will do – tennis ball, Oball, plastic balls, volleyball, or beach ball; doesn’t matter the size, he’ll try and pick it up.